K-pop splashes into the west

The princesses of Korean pop music  from left to right: Sooyoung,Yoona, Taeyeon, Hyoyeon, Seohyun, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany and Yuri.

There is a giant wave of entertainment growing in the far east country of South Korea, and it is getting ready to wash over the entire west this upcoming year. Korean pop music, mostly referred to as K-pop, is all the rage in South Korea, and has been steadily on the incline for the past 13 years. After an enormous success in multiple Asian countries such as Singapore, China, Vietnam and even Japan, this wave of K-pop has decided to finally reach out west. Three girl groups in South Korea are at the forefront of this movement thus far, and are poised to make multiple splashes throughout the year.

Similar to American music in the mid-90s, K-pop is filled with plenty of boy and girl groups. K-pop songs are filled with synthesizers, electric bass and catchy beats. Most of the music is either dance or "synthpop," but hip-hop and rap are also starting to take over the charts in South Korea. Along with their fast beats are tons of other entertainment values such as powerful voices, extremely talented dancing, and they do not look too shabby either.

The Wonder Girls

One of the most successful girl groups that are riding the wave into the west is The Wonder Girls. The Wonder Girls are a pop group that formed in 2007, but did not start their American exploration until 2009. Their hit single "Nobody" ended up on the Billboard's Hot 100 in October 2009, making them the first South Korean group to ever land on the charts. From there, they were taken under the Jonas Brothers' wings and opened for them in a total of 45 concerts.  The Wonder Girls then began their own tour and graced cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago in a 20-show tour the following year. Like any group, there are occasional change-ups in members due various issues, but while touring in America in 2009, Sunye (22), Yeeun (22), Sohee (19), Sunmi (19) and Yubin (23) were the members of the group. Now, Sunye leads the group, while Yeeun is the lead vocalist,Yubin is the main rapper, Sohee is the main dancer and Hyerim (19) contributes to lead vocals and rapping. Sunmi was the lead vocalist until she postponed her time with The Wonder Girls to further her education. They plan to have a single drop simultaneously with their Nickelodeon film, "Wonder Girls at the Apollo," scheduled for release Feb. 2 onTeenNick.

2NE1

From the old to the new, this hip-hop rookie group has made a huge name for themselves in the past two years; they go by the name of 2NE1.  Destiny's Child meets South Korea is the best way to explain the fierce presence that this girl group radiates. Although they only began performing together in 2009, they are quickly being spotted by American eyes. The Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am has taken huge interest and has recorded 10 songs with 2NE1. Last year, 2NE1 rocked it out with their hit single "I Am the Best" which holds the second most views for a K-pop song on YouTube in 2011. The dynamic quartet is led by feisty CL (21) who also has a fierce tongue that allows her to be the main rapper. Park Bom (27) is the powerhouse main vocalist of this group. Sandara (27) is the quirky vocalist and does most of the promoting and modeling, and Minzy (17) is quick on her feet which makes her the main dancer. With growing anticipation, will.i.am recently tweeted, "This [2NE1] is coming out crazy…" making fans excited for their plans this year.

Girls' Generation

Dominating the Korean girl group phenomenon is Girls' Generation. This nine-member bubblegum pop group has been going strong since 2007. Their song "Gee," which came out in 2009, has over 62 million views on YouTube and the numbers keep growing. Their world tour from 2010 to 2011 with their company SM Entertainment, traveled to America twice and ended the tour in a sold out Madison Square Garden in New York City. In November 2011, the group collaborated with Teddy Riley, who has also produced songs for Michael Jackson. Together they created the song "The Boys" which at one point was the third most watched music video on YouTube. The following month, it landed number 1 on the Billboard's K-Pop Hot 100. A maxi single was released with 8 remixes of the song, one of which featured Snoop Dogg, while another repackaged version of this album for Japanese audiences featured a remix with DEV and The Cataracs. Girls' Generation's current American label is Interscope making them label mates with Lady Gaga and Far East Movement. This group of nine is led by Taeyeon (22), Jessica (22), Sunny (22), Tiffany (22), Hyoyeon (22), Yuri (22), Sooyoung( 21), Yoona (21) and Seohyun (20). A special edition of "The Boys" is available January 17th.

With videos topping over 62 million views on YouTube, the Internet has played a huge role in the popularity increase that has surrounded these three groups and various others debuting and rising in South Korea.  They have started to become noticed by magazines, websites and celebrities such as blogger Perez Hilton, "Vampire Diaries" actresses Nina Dobrev, SPIN Magazine and MTV Style. Their impact has even caused Billboard to make a K-pop list and YouTube to put a K-pop option in the music category. So, strap that bathing suit up tight, these groups will certainly be making a splash in 2012.

Originally Posted HERE

"Hugo" is a huge success

Martin Scorsese is not the first name to come to mind when one thinks of family films. "Hugo" is Scorsese's first venture into the genre, and he may have made a name for himself in the field. Scorsesehas created an exceptional film filled with great performances, rich characters and a sense of film history that truly shows the love he holds for the craft he has mastered for so many years.

"Hugo" takes place in a 1930's Paris railway station. Hugo Cabret, played byAsa Butterfield ("Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang" and "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"), is a young boy who lives in the walls and winds the clocks of the train station. After mysteriously losing his father, Jude Law ("Sherlock Holmes"), he is left with a strange machine called an automaton. This automaton is a wind-up man that can write a message, but it is broken.  Hugo then goes on a quest to find all the pieces needed to fix this machine, and figure out the possible message his father left behind for him.

Along the way he teams up with Isabelle, played by Chloë Grace Moretz ( "Let Me In"), who is an extremely book smart girl and happens to be the goddaughter of Papa Georges, portrayed by Sir Ben Kingsley ( "Schindler's List" and "Ghandi"). Papa Georges is an old man who runs a toy shop in the railway station that Hugo steals from. Georges takes a notebook from Hugo that contains important notes that will help fix the automaton. While on his quest, Hugo has to avoid being seen by train inspector Gustav, played by Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat" and "Brüno"), who will throw him into an orphanage if he is caught.

The best aspects about this movie are that the main themes of the importance of film preservation and film history are not forced on the audience. The characters slowly slip into these themes when Hugo starts to express how his father always took him to the movies and his favorite movie was "A Trip to the Moon," which plays a key role in the film. As they try to do more and more research on the mystery behind this automaton, they find a film history book and learn how  early film creators realized the impact movies can have on people.

These themes and magnificent writing are partly due to the award winning crew that put the film together. Director Martin Scorsese, who has made groundbreaking films such as "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas" as well as more recent films such as "The Departed" and "Shutter Island," is the founder of the film preservation organization The Film Foundation. Along with Scorsese is John Logan, who has also written screenplays for "The Aviator" and "Gladiator." Together, these two created an extremely real fantasy of a boy's quest to find not only the secrets behind this automaton, but his real purpose in life.

The weight of this story rests on the shoulders of an outstanding cast.  Some familiar Scorsese faces round out the minor characters, but the real stars are the two young actors in the lead roles.  Butterfield gives an impressive performance that shows ability well beyond his years.  Moretz, who has acted opposite such veterans as Nicholas Cage ("National Treasure" and "Ghost Rider") and Richard Jenkins ("Let Me In" and "Step Brothers"), has shown off her serious and comedic acting skills, both of which come into play in this film. Butterfield and Moretz even have some scenes with bookshop owner Monsieur Labisse, played by Christopher Lee, ("Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" and "Lord of the Rings") and his presence is evenly matched.

Although "Hugo" has the themes of film preservation and history hanging over its head, it is a delicate yet powerful story. The care paid to these characters will attach children and teenagers while the complex undertones will drag in adults of all ages. Overly sappy storytelling and cringe-worthy jokes have never been Scorsese's style, and he has definitely proven that he can make a tear-jerking family movie without them.

"Hugo" receives 4 out of 5 stars.

Originally posted HERE

"Immortal" combat

Films featuring abnormally muscular men poured into sandals and heavy armor have been gracing the silver screen since the dawn of cinema. Movies of the gods such as "Clash of the Titans," "Conan The Barbarian" and "300" have appeared onscreen recently but have not received the same screen time as the more popular superhero and  supernatural genres. While "Immortals" is far from a perfect adaptation of Greek mythology, it delivers how it was meant to: with barely clothed men, lots of blood and loud inaudible grunts to fill in the blank spaces between the action.

"Immortals" follows a new take on the story of Theseus (Henry Cavill). Theseus is a human living in a small village about 3,000 years ago. He is known as a peasant by the villagers, but was trained as a warrior at a young age. As Theseus lives day to day on Earth, the gods who watch from above are haunted by feelings of war. Years before Theseus's time, the gods went to war, and the losers – called Titans – were imprisoned in Mount Tartarus. Only the Epirius Bow, the god of war Ares's lost weapon, can set the Titans free, which would bring doom upon the world. King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) sets out to destroy all the worshiping temples and find the Epirius Bow. Lo and behold, Theseus's village holds one of these temples, ultimately forcing him to face King Hyperion's rage.

The movie immediately throws the audience into a vivid and intense world. Viewers can tell fairly quickly that this movie was touched by the same hands as "300." Small details such as sand whipping around under passing arrows or capes draped gracefully and flowing from side to side as characters walk simply pull in the audience. The 3-D definitely helps when it comes to sound and creating a distance between the foreground and background. One scene in particular creates a perfect mesh of sound and visuals as the god Poseidon dives from his perch and collides head first with the ocean below. The sound as the waves part and shift to create a giant wave may easily cause members of the theater audience to stare in awe.

In addition to the visuals, the performances help round out the experience. Cavill gives a solid performance as Theseus and really has the audience gunning for a positive outcome after all his hardships. His team of oracle Phaedra (Freida Pinto) and cunning thief Stavros(Stephen Dorff)  allows for a good balance of slight comedy and romance tossed  into the testosterone frenzy. Rourke steals every scene as King Hyperion, digging into his darkest places to pull out a truly ruthless and unlikeable character. The humans fair better than the gods acting-wise, however.  Aside from Zeus (Luke Evans), the performances of the gods fall flat, even with their extravagant head pieces and gold attire.

The CGI works in the small details as well as the big moments in this film. It would be impossible to count the number of spears that landed in the faces and bodies of Hyperion's army, for example..

The filmmakers were sure to let the blood start flying whenever the audience's interest could begin to wane. The fight choreography is extremely fluid, like a deadly dance of spears, daggers and fists. Besides the fighting, the mesmerizing color palette certainly helps set the mood of the movie. Bright colors of gold and white are sprinkled here and there when the movie shifts to the gods conversing, while harsh tones of tans and red are thrown in when the audience comes back to Earth.

The biggest disappointment of "Immortals" is the last 10 minutes of film. Viewers are taken from an intense and bloody battle to a sudden, seemingly rushed ending that leaves more questions than answers. While visuals and action can go a long way toward making up for a suffering storyline, they cannot carry it to the battlefield and allow it to walk away unscathed.

"Immortals" receives 3 out of 5 stars.

Originally Posted Here!